The Latest News from Our Field

Using marijuana in college may increase the risk of leaving school, a new study suggests. Researchers found even students who only used marijuana occasionally were more likely to leave than their peers who did not use drugs.

Energy drinks may increase blood pressure, and lead to changes in the heart’s natural rhythm, according to a study presented at a meeting of the American Heart Association.

Officials in Ohio report Suboxone, used to treat opioid dependence, is being smuggled into prisons in the state, The Columbus Dispatch reports.

The abuse of prescription drugs is well documented, but if we are to expand our fight against prescription drug abuse and want the support of policy makers, it is incumbent upon us to find new sources of revenue that will pay for the changes that must be made, says Andrew Kessler, substance abuse and mental health specialist.

Monster Energy has agreed to market its drinks as beverages, instead of dietary supplements, CNN reports. The company’s decision comes after 18 public health experts asked the Food and Drug Administration to restrict caffeine content in energy drinks.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is hiring contractors who can deploy hazardous waste contamination teams to two sites in Texas, to extract drug packages buried in toxic waste, according to Wired.

Researchers who have developed a secondhand tobacco smoke sensor say their product could be used to enforce no-smoking regulations.

The Florida House Judiciary Committee this week passed a bill that would add 27 substances to the list of controlled substances that are banned in the state. The bill aims to make it more difficult for makers of synthetic drugs to manufacture their products.

A bipartisan group of legislators introduced a bill that would tighten restrictions on hydrocodone, the Los Angeles Times reports. The Safe Prescribing Act of 2013 follows recommendations made in January by a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel.

Adults with a substance use disorder or mental illness smoke almost 40 percent of cigarettes in the United States, a new government study finds.

Toddlers of women who used methamphetamine in pregnancy, who live in an unstable home environment, appear to have an abnormal response to stress, a new study suggests.

Officials in Washington state have chosen a think tank to help them set up and regulate its new marijuana market, Reuters reports.

A new report finds small children who end up in the emergency room after being accidentally poisoned from medication are more likely to find the pills in a mother’s purse or the floor than the family medicine cabinet.

The U.S. government will not fight for graphic warning labels on cigarette packages, and will instead create new anti-smoking ads, Reuters reports.

A group of health experts is asking the Food and Drug Administration to restrict the amount of caffeine permitted in energy drinks, according to The New York Times.

The evidence of the harmful effects of alcohol outweighs data on the benefits of drinking, a physician writes in the current issue of the journal Addiction.

The first national study to identify alcohol brands consumed by underage youth finds the top 25 brands accounted for almost half of youth alcohol consumption.

Abuse of the anesthesia drug propofol is on the rise among health care professionals who have easy access to it, a new study suggests.

A growing number of smokers are relighting cigarettes, a trend that is related to economic factors, according to researchers at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey.

An increasing number of teens and adults in southern California are using heroin, according to Drug Enforcement Administration officials.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has proposed keeping cigarettes out of sight in city stores, the Associated Press reports. The proposal is designed to discourage smoking among young people, he said.

A new bill introduced Friday in the U.S. House of Representatives would require new drugs, and certain generic drugs, to have tamper-resistant formulas, ABC News reports. The proposed legislation is designed to reduce prescription drug abuse.

Critics of the soon-to-be-released updated manual used to identify mental illness, say it will expand the list of what constitutes mental illness and will lead to a needless increase in diagnoses, according to CNN.

Even moderate amounts of alcohol can be dangerous for people with hepatitis C, according to a new study.

Middle school students who date report using twice as much alcohol, tobacco and marijuana, compared with their classmates without romantic relationships, a new study finds.